Gait disorders in neurologically disabled people can be treated by various techniques available today which include passive orthoses, functional electrical stimulation (FES) and robot assisted gait training devices (RAGT). However, each system has its own drawback. For example, gait rehabilitation with orthosis is physically taxing for the patient with no significant functional improvement. FES uses muscle powers as physiological actuators to promote balance and improve gait but leads to fatigue, along with poor control of joint trajectories. RAGT devices including powered exoskeletons, gait rehabilitation systems employing programmable footplates and mobile training platforms, have shown significant advantages but the devices are not yet mature due to numerous drawbacks associated with physical and cognitive interaction, energy-management and portability issues. The combination of FES technology and RAGT devices, often named hybrid FES-robot technologies, has arisen as a promising approach to aid in gait restoration. This work reports a comprehensive review on the hybrid FES-robot technologies over the last decades, focusing on different mechanical structures, actuator designs, sensing technologies, and control approaches. The hybrid robotic structures are classified into two categories: (i) orthotic-based hybrid systems, where (a) FES is used to stimulate the muscles and produce joint torque while the robotic system acts as energy dissipating device, and (b) FES and robotic systems are both torque-generating devices; and (ii) non-orthotic based hybrid systems. The review compiles a variety of sources and illustrates the technology's most important challenges in the fields of hybrid rehabilitation robotics which may contribute towards further development of hybrid robot systems.

motor impairments in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Design: Cohort study. Setting: Non-profit organization helping children with disabilities. Participants: Children with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, hip dysplasia, myelomeningocele, scoliosis and clubfoot who present with motor impairments. Interventions: A database was formed from data collected first by chart review and then phone interview using a standardized questionnaire. Data collected included the type of assistive technology devices required. The interview also evaluated the acquisition method of these devices and the numbers of patients that still need devices but lack access to them. The interview was recorded and an informed consent was previously required. Main Outcome Measures: The data were analyzed by an epidemiological software. Level of Evidence: Level 2. Results: As the population of this study contains a heterogeneous group of diseases, it is important to organize the results by disease. The interview results show that out of 42 patients with cerebral palsy, 58.5% need an assistive device. Out of the 52 patients with hip dysplasia, 17.3% need an assistive device. The entire population with myelomeningocele showed a need for assistive devices. Out of 18 patients with scoliosis, 27.8% need external assistance and out of 42 clubfoot patients, 30% need an assistive device. Lastly 33.5% of the remaining 111 patients who have other diseases need an assistive device. The major acquisition form of these devices by those who had them was 42.4% by direct purchase and 57.6% by donation or loan. Conclusions: A substantial need for assistive devices by children with motor disabilities exists. A lack of rehabilitation engineering decreases the availability of such devices thereby increasing their price. The patients and their families often cannot afford what is available to them. No. 305 Energy Expenditure and Walking Speed in Lower Limb Amputees: An Old Problem Revisited Again. Teuta Osmani Vllasolli; Beti Zafirova; Ardiana Murtezani; Bukurije Rama. Study Design: Prospective cross-sectional. Study Background:Although there are many aspects of walking on which the clinician might focus, energy expenditure and walking speed often have been recommended for use as a measures of status and outcome. Objectives: The objective of this study was to measure the physiological cost index (PCI) and comfort walking speed (CWS) at three levels of lower limb amputation: transfemoral, transtibial, and at Syme level and the relation of these physiological variables with prosthetic ambulation supported with walking aids and stump length. Methods: The eighty-nine individuals with lower limb amputation for reason other than peripheral vascular disease (PVD) were recruited among patients at the Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo. The PCI was assessed by five minutes of continuous indoor walking at CWS. Results: There were found significant differences in PCI (f¼29.87 p<0.001) and CWS (f¼19.33 p<0.001) between three ampu...

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